The Best Cash-Back Credit Cards

Updated September 6, 2019

We’ve revised this guide with an updated methodology and new picks. We’ve also looked at new cards (or changes to offers on existing cards) that have emerged since we last published this guide in fall 2018.

Your guides

Sally French

Korrena Bailie

Cash-back credit cards give you money back for the purchases you’re already making.

With cash-back cards, you can choose to keep things simple and have just one card that gives you a solid rate on everything you buy. Or you can choose to ultra-optimize, holding two or more cards to get the maximum rate back on your purchases.

With that in mind, we divided this guide into three sections: if you want only one credit card, if you want a few cards to earn more rewards in common categories, and if you’re okay with managing multiple cards to max out rewards in niche categories.

We recommend that everyone start their rewards credit card journey with one cash-back card that gives you a good rate across everything you buy. Our top pick earns 2%, which we consider the gold standard—that’s how much you should be earning, assuming you have a credit score of at least 700. Some of our picks, while harder to qualify for, can earn you even more than that.

If you’re no-nonsense when it comes to credit cards, get one of these cards and stop here. Your credit card life will be simple, as you’ll have one great card that you’ll never have to think about again.

But if you’re okay with putting in a bit more work to get more rewards, read on.

If you’re willing to manage two or three credit cards for bonus rewards in major spending areas

Slide 1 of 4

The best grocery card (if you spend at least $100 a week at US supermarkets)

What we don’t love

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 8/8/2019. Learn More.

Feeding ravenous teenagers? Always dining out? Have a monster commute to work? It may be worth the effort to augment your existing general-spending credit card with a secondary card that earns an even higher rate in certain everyday categories, such as groceries or dining. These cards offer 3% to 6% cash back in some categories but typically offer just 1% on general purchases. That’s why we recommend starting with a card that gets at least 2% and supplementing it with one of these bonus-category cards.

If managing a total of two or three cards sounds like your limit, consider getting one or two bonus-category cards and stopping here. But if you relish the thrill of getting the most cash back possible, keep reading.

If you’re willing to juggle many cash-back cards to max out rewards in niche categories

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 9/6/2019. Learn More.

In 1999, you were extreme couponing. But now it’s 2019, and you’re capitalizing on credit cards. You’re okay juggling more credit cards than the average person in an effort to squeeze out every last dollar.

These cards are finicky (and we don’t recommend them for most people given the involved work). The bonus categories can change and tend to be super-niche, like gyms or movie theaters, so you might use one of these cards only a couple of times a month. But although these cards require more work, they offer potentially more payoff, as they typically provide higher cash-back rates in bonus categories than any other cards out there.

Methodology

We considered 46 credit cards that offer cash-back rewards (as opposed to credit card points). Since this is a cash-back guide, we presume you’re interested in earning the most cash back you can.

We used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017 Mid-Year Consumer Expenditure Survey (PDF) to analyze how much money American households spend each year. While the BLS data breaks down spending into dozens of categories, we based our calculations on spending categories where credit cards are widely accepted; for example, we considered spending on “food away from home” (which essentially means restaurants) rather than spending on shelter (rent or mortgage) because although some landlords may let tenants pay their rent with a credit card, most don’t.

Once we had a table of spending by credit card categories, we multiplied the amounts by the cash-back rate per category for each of the cards we analyzed (for example, $3,365 spent on dining each year × 2% on dining purchases = $67.30).

We created two different tables, using different spending variables. We based the first set of calculations on spending across median American households. But since high-income households typically spend more money than lower-earning households, we also created a second table, based on spending among the top 20% of income-earning American households.

But that’s not all we considered: We also made our judgments based on how accessible these cards are to obtain (some have complicated membership requirements), how much they charge in annual fees, and how easy it is to redeem rewards (receiving an automatic statement credit is better than having to claim cash back in person).

We think most people should start their rewards journey with a cash-back card. No need to ask “Does this corner market count as a grocery store?” or “Are these Disney tickets considered travel or entertainment?” Instead, you know you’re getting a great rewards rate no matter what you buy.

The best general credit card for most people: Citi® Double Cash Card

Our pick for 2% cash back

The Double Cash is a convenient day-to-day companion you’ll reach for regularly: It has a high cash-back rate, earning and redeeming your cash is easy, and you get big-bank conveniences. Plus, you enjoy a long 0% APR period on balance transfers.

What we love

No other card offers the combination of excellent cash-back rewards and 18 months of 0% APR (then 15.99% - 25.99%, variable) on balance transfers made within four months of opening your account.

High 2% cash-back rate (1% when you buy, 1% when you pay it off)

Quickly deposit your cash back directly into your bank account

$0 annual fee

What we don’t love

While 2% cash back on everything you buy is one of the best ongoing rates available, other cards deliver better rewards on specific categories, such as groceries and dining.

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 8/8/2019. Learn More.

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

15.99% - 25.99% variable

Intro Bonus

N/A

Recommended Credit

Good to excellent

Annual cash back earned based on average US household spending: $309.88Annual cash back earned based on high-earning US household spending: $560.04

Why we like it

The Citi Double Cash is a workhorse. In almost all cases, you reap 2% back on everything you buy: 1% when you make the purchase and 1% when you pay it off.

Although you could earn a higher cash-back rate through our other two picks, we gave this card bonus points because it has no annual fee (the Chase Freedom Unlimited also has no annual fee, but to qualify for that card’s 2.25% cash-back rate, you need to have the $450 Chase Sapphire Reserve in your arsenal as well). Most people dislike annual fees.

The Double Cash is the most straightforward credit card in this guide. It has no bonus categories, eliminating confusion over whether, say, your local corner café is considered a restaurant for bonus dining rewards. It has no rewards caps, saving you from you doing math in the checkout line. It has no annual fee to justify, and no membership requirements.

You can redeem rewards into a linked account: The best way to redeem rewards and receive the full 2% cash back is as a cash deposit into your linked checking or savings account.

If you redeem your cash back as a statement credit, you earn slightly less than the full 2% (around 1.98%) because that statement credit doesn’t count as paying off your purchases and doesn’t qualify for the 1%. The structure is a little wonky, but don’t stress if you opt for a statement credit. The difference between 2% and 1.98% cash back is about 20¢ for every $1,000 you spend—pretty negligible in the long run.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

No intro bonus: Other cards we reviewed have intro bonuses; the Chase Freedom Unlimited, for instance, offers a tidy $200 cash back once you spend $500 in your first three months as a cardholder.

Foreign-transaction fee: Sadly, the Double Cash imposes a 3% foreign-transaction fee when you buy outside the US or purchase something in a foreign currency.

Citi has quashed some of its most beloved perks: Recently, Citi has rolled back some of the most-revered perks on its US cards, such as free trip insurance and Price Rewind, a program where Citi would give you a statement credit for the difference if you reported a lower price on the item you bought within 60 days from the date of your eligible purchases. For Price Rewind, the writing on the wall appeared after Citi lowered the maximum benefit per claim and per year in July 2018. On September 22, 2019, the program goes away completely for purchases made after that date; you’ll still have that 60-day window to submit claims for purchases made before September 22, but you can’t submit any new requests after March 19, 2020.

The best cash-back card if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve: Chase Freedom Unlimited

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 8/29/2019. Learn More.

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

16.99% - 25.74% variable

Intro Bonus

$200

Recommended Credit

Good to excellent

Annual cash back earned based on average US household spending (if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve): $348.62Annual cash back earned based on high-earning US household spending (if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve): $630.05

Why we like it

The no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Unlimited offers a flat 1.5% cash back on every purchase. That’s okay, but it gets even better if you also have the $450-annual-fee Chase Sapphire Reserve, one of our favorite credit cards for travel and dining.

Chase refers to this card as a “cash-back rewards card” in its marketing materials. What this means is that Chase tracks your “cash back” as points (100 points equals $1 in cash-back rewards). Since you can redeem your points at a 1:1 value for cash, we consider this card to be a cash-back card. But to be accurate, it’s technically a points card—and that’s why it could be quite lucrative for you.

Chase allows you to transfer points between accounts, so if you transfer them to your Reserve, you could forgo the cash-back redemption option, instead redeeming them as Ultimate Rewards points. If you use those points to book travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal, you’ll be able to redeem each point for 1.5¢ per point, meaning your Freedom Unlimited’s 1.5 points per dollar spent could then be worth 2.25 points per dollar.

Here’s how that works in real life: Say you buy the $600 Briggs & Riley Baseline Domestic Carry-On Expandable Spinner with your Freedom Unlimited. You earn 900 points, worth $9 if you redeem them for cash. But if you transfer those 900 points to the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal through your Reserve and redeem them for travel, those 900 points are worth $13.50.

The point-transfer option also works if you have either the Chase Ink Business Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Preferred, though the results are not quite as fruitful as what you can get with the Reserve. With those two cards, you can redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for travel at a rate of 1.25¢ per point (worth 1.875 points per dollar spent).

A great 0% intro APR offer can help if you need more time to pay off a big expense: The Chase Freedom Unlimited is also our top pick for the best 0% APR card, as it offers a long, 15-month promotional APR period on purchases and balance transfers, then 16.99% – 25.74% variable.

A relatively easy-to-attain intro offer: You earn $200 cash back after you spend $500 on purchases in your first three months.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

You need to have the $450-annual-fee Chase Sapphire Reserve to make this card’s cash-back rate as valuable as that of a 2% cash-back card: Although 1.5% back is fine, it isn’t hang-on-your-refrigerator levels of good, so in the long term you might either consider a different card or add another Chase card to your portfolio that boosts the 1.5% rate.

Without the Reserve in your arsenal, you earn more in cash-back rewards with the Citi Double Cash. (If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you earn 1.88%.) If you’re not looking for an intro 0% APR offer and don’t have a Chase Sapphire card, the Freedom Unlimited is much less valuable than our other cash-back contenders.

Foreign-transaction fees: Like the Double Cash, the Freedom Unlimited imposes a 3% foreign-transaction fee (a foreign-transaction fee isn’t unusual among cash-back cards). Assuming you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you should use that card for your purchases abroad to avoid foreign-transaction fees.

The best cash-back rate we found (if you can invest at least $100,000 with Bank of America or Merrill): Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card

The best cash-back rate we found

The card offers 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining and 1.5 points on all other spending—but the real value comes for Bank of America savings and investment clients. A $20,000 deposit in a BofA savings or investment account earns you a 25% rewards bonus on all spending. $100,000 gives you a 75% bonus, the highest of any cash-back card we found.

What we love

This card has a particularly generous cash-back rate and also offers satisfactory travel rewards.

2.625% cash back (the highest rate we found) if you have $100,000 or more invested with Bank of America or Merrill Lynch

No foreign-transaction fees

$100 airline credit you can use for incidentals like baggage fees and in-flight drinks

What we don’t love

You need to have a lot invested with Bank of America ($100,000) to qualify for the highest cash-back rate.

$95 annual fee

Reward rates are distinctly average if they're not supercharged by enrollment in the Preferred Rewards program

Why we like it

If you want the highest cash-back rate we found, and if you already have $100,000 in a qualifying Bank of America or Merrill account (or are willing to move that much into one), look to the Bank of America Premium Rewards Credit Card, which gives you a cash-back rate of 2.625%.

All customers, regardless of account balance, initially earn a base rate of 2% back per dollar spent on dining and travel, plus 1.5% back on everything else.

But depending on the size of your Bank of America/Merrill Lynch account, you qualify for a point bonus, so you could earn as much as 3.5% on travel and 2.625% on everything else if you’re lucky enough to be in the highest bonus tier.

Here’s how the reward tiers break down:

Not a Preferred
Rewards
member

Gold

Platinum

Platinum
Honors

Combined
account
balance

$0 to $19,999

$20,000 to $49,999

$50,000 to $99,999

$100,000-plus

Rewards bonus

None

25%

50%

75%

Total rewards
rate
on dining and
travel

2%

2.5%

3%

3.5%

Total rewards
rate
on general
spending

1.5%

1.875%

2.25%

2.625%

Bank of America markets the card as a travel card, allowing you to redeem points for purchases in Bank of America’s Travel Center (your rewards come in the form of points, as opposed to straight cash back). But we consider this to be a cash-back card, as one point is worth 1¢ and you can redeem your rewards as a deposit into qualifying Bank of America or Merrill accounts, including checking, savings, and 529 accounts, or as a statement credit.

The travel credits are worth more than the annual fee: Each year, you get a $100 travel credit for incidentals such as baggage fees or lounge fees. If that’s money you would have spent anyway, you’re actually $5 in the black after the $95 annual fee. Plus, you get a $100 statement credit to reimburse your TSA Pre✓ or Global Entry application fee every four years.

There’s a hefty intro offer: You get a 50,000-point intro offer (worth $500) if you make $3,000 in purchases within your first 90 days. For comparison, the Chase Freedom Unlimited’s bonus offer nets just $200, and the Citi Double Cash doesn’t have an intro offer.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The highest cash-back rate is tough to get: Only a few of the luckiest Americans qualify for that 2.625% cash-back rate. You need a lot of money to move around: $100,000 saved or invested with Bank of America or Merrill. If you don’t qualify for any Preferred Rewards tier, the 1.5% rewards rate on this card is just average.

You have to consider the cost of parking all that cash with Bank of America or Merrill: If you have that much money, you also have many options as to where to put it. We haven’t thoroughly reviewed the Bank of America and Merrill savings and investment products, so you need to do your own research before moving money there. Consider whether you can earn or save more money through other banks; through competitors, you may be able to get higher interest rates, for example, or fewer account-management fees.

For customers in the Gold tier (you have $20,000 in a qualifying account) and higher, though, there are a number of perks, such as ATM fee reimbursement, waived account-maintenance fees on up to four checking and four savings accounts, and discounts on other products such as auto loans and mortgage fees.

What we don’t love

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 8/8/2019. Learn More.

Some cards offer bonus rewards in certain categories, typically in areas where you commonly spend money, such as gas, groceries, and restaurants. A bonus-category cash-back card can earn more rewards than a flat cash-back card if those categories align with your spending.

These cards typically offer a lower cash-back rate (1% is the norm) on spending outside the bonus categories, so we recommend putting non-bonus-category purchases on one of the cards we describe above. But since these cards give you an even higher cash-back rate (typically 3% to 6%) in certain categories, you can whip out one of these bonus-category cards for those purchases.

For big rewards on groceries and gas (but with an annual fee): Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express

Apply now for this Partner Offer on American Express’s secure website.

Annual Fee

$95

Regular APR

14.99% - 25.99% variable

Intro Bonus

$250

Recommended Credit

Good to Excellent

Bonus categories: 6% cash back on up to $6,000 per year in purchases at US supermarkets, then 1%; 6% on select US streaming subscriptions (such as Netflix and Spotify), 3% at US gas stations, and 3% on transit including parking, tolls, subways, and rideshares—all with no caps.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express can net hundreds of dollars in rewards for supermarket shoppers, with a catch: an annual fee. Given the fee, we recommend this card only if your grocery bill is at least about $100 per week ($93.75, to be exact).

Why we like it

The highest supermarket rewards rate we found: Of all the cards we reviewed, no other card offers as high a rate (6% on up to $6,000 per year in purchases at US supermarkets) at the supermarket. That means for every $1 you spend at supermarkets (up to $6,000), you get 6¢ back. While everyone else is fervently clipping coupons, you’re getting a whopping 6% discount in the form of cash back. Or, hey, you could also clip coupons, use this card to pay for the balance, and really stack the discounts.

Annual net cash back
earned with the Blue Cash
Preferred for all purchases

Annual net cash back
earned with the Blue Cash
Preferred at US
supermarkets and gas
stations, and a 2%
cash-back card everywhere
else

For average American
households

$317

$387

For high-earning American
households

$545

$728

Calculations are based on 2017 BLS consumer-expenditure data for food at home and purchases at gas stations, broken down by the median US household and the top 20% of income-earning households. Calculations factor in the Blue Cash Preferred’s $95 annual fee.

The intro bonus is easily attainable: You get $250 after you spend $1,000 on your new card in your first three months. You have to spend just about $80 per week on this card to hit that target.

The redemption options are convenient: Your cash back is technically awarded in the form of Reward Dollars, but it’s easy to redeem them as a statement credit. (You can also choose other ways to redeem, such as for gift cards or merchandise.)

The 0% intro APR offer can help you pay off big purchases: If you have a big bill coming up that you’d rather pay off over the course of a year than in one month, this card can help you avoid paying interest. You’re eligible for a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months (though once the promo period ends, the purchase APR jumps to a variable 14.99% – 25.99%). If you’re going for a balance transfer, though, note that Amex charges a balance-transfer fee of 3% or $5, whichever is higher (see rates and fees).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Grocery rewards are limited to US supermarkets: Amex is picky in what it considers a “U.S. supermarket,” which is the only kind of store where you earn 6% back. Accepted supermarkets include Albertsons, Kroger, and Publix. But you get only 1% for grocery purchases at farmers markets, specialty stores (such as cheese shops), superstores like Amazon and Target, or warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club. If your regular grocery store isn’t what Amex considers a “supermarket,” you’re probably better off with the Bank of America Cash Rewards, which has a much more broad definition of grocery purchases.

You have to spend enough to justify the $95 annual fee: Your annual spending on gas alone likely won’t justify the annual fee (you’d have to spend more than $3,000 annually on gas just to break even, which most households don’t do, according to 2017 BLS consumer-expenditure data). Get this card only if you also spend spend money on transit, on streaming services, and at US supermarkets.

The rewards cap at US supermarkets limits how much cash back you can earn at the top rate: This card is for people feeding ravenous teens—but they can’t be too ravenous. Only the first $6,000 in US supermarket purchases each year qualify. You then earn just 1% cash back on additional purchases. After subtracting the cost of the annual fee, you earn $265 in bonus supermarket cash back on that $6,000 of spending. Of course, this is still $145 more than you’d earn with a card that earns 2% cash back on the same amount of spending.

You need at least $25 worth of rewards before you can start claiming them: You can’t start redeeming your rewards for statement credits until your reward-dollars balance is $25 or more. That means you need to spend $417 at supermarkets (that’s about one and a half months of shopping for the average American household) before you accrue enough rewards to start claiming them.

For groceries and gas (if you’re not willing to pay an annual fee): Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card

If you already (or want to) invest with Bank of America

This card has the potential to be the highest-earning gas rewards credit card we reviewed (and you can earn high cash back in some other worthy categories too). But it’s best for existing Bank of America customers with some serious savings.

What we love

There just aren’t many credit cards that offer respectable goodies at the pump.

BofA’s Preferred Rewards program can accelerate your cash-back earnings (the highest you can earn is 5.25%) if you have sufficient savings in an eligible account; tiers range from $20,000 to $100,000

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

15.99% - 25.99% variable

Intro Bonus

$200

Recommended Credit

Excellent/Good

Bonus categories: 3% cash back on one category of your choice (gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores, or home improvement and furnishings), and 2% on groceries and wholesale clubs on the first $2,500 spent each quarter, then 1%.

Why we like it

You have the potential to earn as much as 5.25% on bonus categories: Although 3% on a bonus category is good, this card offers you the potential to do that one better. The card is part of Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program, which makes you eligible for a point bonus depending on the size of your Bank of America/Merrill account (such as a savings or investment account).

If you qualify for the highest bonus tier, you earn 5.25% on the 3% category. No other no-annual-fee credit card in this guide offers bonus rewards that high.

Here’s how the reward tiers break down:

Not a Preferred
Rewards
member

Gold

Platinum

Platinum
Honors

Combined
account
balance

$0 to $19,999

$20,000 to $49,999

$50,000 to $99,999

$100,000-plus

Rewards bonus

None

25%

50%

75%

Total rewards
rate on your
selected bonus
category

3%

3.75%

4.5%

5.25%

Total rewards
on groceries
and wholesale
clubs

2%

2.5%

3%

3.5%

Non-bonus-
category rate

1%

1.25%

1.5%

1.75%

You must have a three-month average combined balance of $20,000 or more in qualifying Bank of America and/or Merrill Lynch accounts to begin qualifying for the Preferred Rewards program.

You get to choose your own categories each month: Bank of America gives you the flexibility to choose one category (gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores, or home improvement and furnishings) to earn 3% rewards, making it particularly easy to rack up bonus rewards for planned purchases. And you’re not stuck with that category forever: You can change the category each month, so you could choose, say, gas for the month you’re planning a road trip and then pick home improvement when it’s time for your kitchen remodel.

If you don’t select a category, the 3% rate defaults to gas.

Annual cash back earned
with the Bank of America
Cash Rewards for all
purchases

Annual cash back earned
with the Bank of America
Cash Rewards at gas
stations and grocery
stores, and a 2% cash-back
card everywhere else

For average American
households with no
Preferred Rewards status

$238

$330

For average American
households with Platinum
Honors status

$416

$439

For high-earning American
households with no
Preferred Rewards status

$376

$590

For high-earning American
households with Platinum
Honors status

$712

$758

Calculations are based on 2017 BLS consumer-expenditure data for food at home and purchases at gas stations, broken down by median US household and the top 20% of income-earning households.

You can start claiming rewards immediately: Unlike some other cards, which have redemption minimums, this card imposes no required minimum balance before you can claim your cash back. You can choose to receive rewards as a statement credit or as a direct deposit into an eligible Bank of America or Merrill account.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The highest cash-back rate is tough to get: As is the case for one of our other favorite Bank of America cards, the Premium Rewards, for this card you have to be comfortable with parking $100,000 in a qualifying Bank of America or Merrill account to get the 5.25% cash-back rate. We haven’t yet reviewed the bank’s saving or investing products, so you should do your own research to see if its rates and fees are worth the effort and commitment to you. If you’re lucky enough to have that much money to move around, don’t just move it for the sake of getting 5.25% back on gas; be sure the other banking services are a fit too.

There’s a cap on bonus earnings: The 3% supercharged rewards you can earn on the bonus category, as well as the additional 2% you can get at grocery stores and warehouse clubs, is limited to just the first $2,500 you spend each quarter (you earn 1% after that).

Say you’re buying the $2,500 (at the time of publication) 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar through Apple’s site or Best Buy’s site. You could set your 3% category to online shopping. Although you would earn $75 in rewards (or $131.25 if you qualified for the full 5.25% rate), you would also max out the earnings cap for that quarter; everything else you paid for with this card that quarter would then earn just the paltry 1% rate.

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 8/8/2019. Learn More.

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

17.99% - 28.74% variable

Intro Bonus

$100

Recommended Credit

Good to excellent

Bonus categories: 4% at restaurants, 3% back on flights, hotels, and vacation-home rentals, and 2% on online purchases.

The Uber Visa Card offers 4% back at restaurants, the highest dining cash-back rate we found of any no-annual fee credit card. Plus, you get tons of other goodies, including bonus cash back on travel and a rare statement credit.

Why we like it

We’re impressed by the Uber Visa Card’s 4% back on purchases at restaurants. That’s an exceptionally high rate across all dining rewards cards, and the highest rate we found among cards with no annual fee.

This card grants your rewards as points, but since you can redeem the points as cash back at a value of 1¢ per point, we consider this to be a cash-back card. (You can opt to redeem your points for gift cards or Uber Cash.)

Since you get only 1% at places where you might commonly spend money, such as the grocery store, your gym, movie theaters, or anywhere else you regularly shop, we recommend pairing this card with one of the other cards in our guide, such as the Citi Double Cash, which earns 1% when you make the purchase and 1% when you pay it off.

To illustrate how this is a great companion card but not necessarily a great standalone card, here’s how much the average American household would earn using the Uber Visa Card for everything versus using the Uber Visa Card for restaurants and using a card that earns 2% for everything else.

Annual net cash back
earned with the Uber Visa Card
for all purchases

Annual net cash back
earned with the Uber Visa
Card at restaurants and a
2% cash-back card
everywhere else

For average American
households

$306

$424

For high-earning American
households

$522

$738

Calculations are based on 2017 BLS consumer-expenditure data for food eaten outside the home, broken down by median US household and the top 20% of income-earning households.

A statement credit can put an extra $50 in your pocket each year: It’s rare to find no-annual-fee cards with statement-credit offers, but the Uber card delivers in this regard. If you spend $5,000 on your card in one year, you get $50 toward a handful of online subscription services, such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Pandora.

An opportunity to get an extra $100 in your first year: If you spend $500 on the card in the first 90 days, you get a $100 intro bonus. It isn’t huge, but it is better than nothing (and many of our cash-back picks don’t offer any intro bonus, period).

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Redemption can be confusing: Although you can redeem your rewards for cash back, the redemption page makes it much easier to claim your points for Uber credits, which you might not actually want (hey, you came here looking for cash back, not Uber rides).

The Uber Visa Card makes it very easy to redeem your rewards for Uber credits—but using other redemption options is a longer slog.

Plus, the option to use your points on Uber rides is marginally less lucrative than redeeming them as cash back. If you redeem your points for Uber ride credits, you don’t earn any rewards on those rides. On the other hand, if you redeem them for cash, which you could theoretically use to pay for future Uber rides, you earn points for those ride purchases, too.

You need at least $25 worth of points before you can start redeeming: There’s a rewards threshold before you can start claiming cash back. You need at least 2,500 points—which requires $625 worth of restaurant spending to achieve—before you can start withdrawing.

In contrast, if you opt to get your rewards in the form of Uber Cash, which essentially gives you credit toward Uber rides, the minimum is just 500 points (worth $5 in rewards value). Again, Uber seems to prefer that you put your rewards toward Uber rides rather than cash back.

You don’t get a great rate on Uber rides: You might think that the Uber Visa Card represents the best way to rack up Uber-ride rewards, but other cards in this guide offer the same, if not better, rates on Uber rides. Although you get 4% back on Uber Eats orders, you get 2% back on Uber fares.

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 8/8/2019. Learn More.

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

17.24% variable

Intro Bonus

N/A

Recommended Credit

Good to excellent

Bonus categories: 4% cash back on gas on the first $7,000 per year (then 1%), 3% on restaurants and travel, and 2% at Costco and Costco.com.

The Costco Anywhere Visa Card is one of our favorite cash-back cards because it offers bonus rewards in so many categories, including dining, travel, gas, and Costco purchases—plus other, lesser-known perks such as purchase protection and extended warranty.

Annual cash back earned
with the Costco Anywhere
Visa for all purchases

Annual cash back earned
with the Costco Anywhere
Visa at restaurants and gas
stations, and a 2%
cash-back card everywhere
else

For average American
households

$281

$341

For high-earning American
households

$498

$624

Calculations are based on 2017 BLS consumer-expenditure data for food eaten outside the home and purchases at gas stations, broken down by median US household and the top 20% of income-earning households.

Why we like it

Buying gas at Costco is great, period: We love the 4% rewards rate on gas, but we especially love buying gas at Costco. Beating out all major gas chains and warehouse-club rivals, including Sam’s Club and BJ’s, Costco ranked as the cheapest place to buy gas in the US in 2017, according to a March 2017 survey from oil-price tracker OPIS. Although you can use other credit cards to pay for Costco gas, you need Costco membership to purchase it. If you’re already a Costco member, you may as well use the Costco Anywhere Visa to supercharge your deals.

Purchase protection and extended warranty can be quite valuable: If something you buy with your Costco credit card is damaged or stolen within 120 days (90 days for New York residents) of purchase or delivery, the card’s damage and theft protection program may either cover repair of the item or reimburse you for up to $10,000 per incident, up to $50,000 per year. The card’s extended warranty program prolongs the manufacturer’s warranty for an additional 24 months, up to a maximum of seven years from the purchase date.

There are some limitations to what’s covered, and you need to provide paperwork supporting your claims, but you could potentially get thousands of dollars back if something you buy breaks or disappears.

It’s also a great card to use when you travel: In addition to having no foreign-transaction fees to worry about, you get 3% back on travel-related purchases, including airfare, hotels, cruise lines, and even Costco Travel.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

You have to physically show up at Costco to claim your cash back: Getting cash back requires some effort. First, once your February billing statement closes, you receive your reward in one lump sum as an annual reward certificate. Then, you have to show up at a Costco warehouse to claim it, upon which you can either apply your rewards toward a Costco purchase or exchange them for cash at the register.

This card may not provide the best rate at Costco: Just like how the Uber Visa Card offers only 2% on Uber rides, the Costco card offers only 2% at Costco. Other cards we mention in this guide—including the Chase Freedom Unlimited (if paired with the Chase Sapphire Reserve), the Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card (depending on your rewards bonus tier), and the Apple Card—offer the same, if not better, rates at Costco.

The card has no annual fee, but to apply you must be a Costco member, which doesentail a fee: Costco membership typically costs $60 a year. The card itself has no annual fee, but unless you’re taking advantage of other Costco membership perks (like actually shopping there), this card may not be worth the expense.

Cash-back credit cards: The best of the rest

Not every card can be a winner, but we did find a few other cash-back cards that we think are worth your attention for a few reasons. They’re still big cash-back options, but they either don’t earn as much cash back as our picks or are generally harder for most people to get or use.

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 8/3/2019. Learn More.

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

15.99% variable

Intro Bonus

$150

Recommended Credit

Good to excellent

Like the Citi Double Cash Card, this card gives you 2% cash back with no annual fee and no caps. Plus, we like that it allows you to deposit your rewards in a savings or investment account, potentially netting a better return on your money.

This card also has a lower foreign-transaction fee than the Double Cash (1% versus 3%), although our preference is for no foreign-transaction fee at all.

Where it falls short: You need to open or have a Fidelity account to get the full 2% cash back. Since you earn 2% cash back with Citi’s Double Cash, why jump the extra hurdles just to earn the same rate with Fidelity’s card? If you don’t have an account or decline to open one, you can use your reward points for travel, merchandise, gift cards, or a statement credit—but you don’t earn the full 2%. There’s also a high redemption minimum: You have to reach 5,000 points (or $50) in rewards before you can redeem. That equals $2,500 in spending.

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 6/24/2019. Learn More.

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

14.99% - 25.99% variable

Intro Bonus

N/A

Recommended Credit

No credit required

If you have a limited credit history but also have a history of positive bank account use, Petal’s card may be for you. Petal says it considers bank factors such as cash flow (income versus spending) and a history of making regular payments (if you’ve already been paying bills) as proof of whether you’ll be a responsible credit user.

You start by earning just 1% cash back on all purchases, a rate far lower than that of any of our picks in this guide, but if you are new to credit, your options may be otherwise limited. Plus, it gets better: After you make six on-time payments, your cash-back rate increases to 1.25%; after 12 on-time payments, it increases to 1.5%. And there are no earnings caps on any of the rewards tiers.

You can get your cash back either as an account statement credit (no minimum redemption) or as a check mailed to you (though the latter option requires at least a $20 redemption).

We also like that Petal has few fees, including no foreign-transaction fee or annual fee, and that many of the app’s features encourage good credit habits. For example, the app defaults to having you pay the full statement balance rather than the minimum payment, as many other banks do.

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 6/24/2019. Learn More.

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

11.24% - 17.24% variable

Intro Bonus

$200

Recommended Credit

Good to excellent

Offering a flat 2% cash-back rate and no annual fee, this card looks a lot like our winner for the best credit card for cash back, except it gives you a $200 intro bonus (after you spend $3,000 in your first 90 days as a cardholder) and doesn’t charge a foreign-transaction fee. You earn that bonus, as well as your other rewards, in the form of an account statement credit.

Although we like this card for its solid earnings rate, it can be tough to get. To apply, you need to be a State Department Federal Credit Union member, which requires you to be an employee of the Department of State (tough), a member of the American Consumer Council (fairly loose requirements, and you pay a lifetime due of just $15), or a member of an affiliate organization.

While there is a minimum redemption to start claiming rewards, it’s much lower than that of many of our other picks that impose reward-redemption minimums: just $5.

If you’re willing to juggle many cards to max out rewards in niche categories

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 9/6/2019. Learn More.

If you want to put in the maximum effort to get the most cash back for all of your spending, a few credit cards can net you big rewards (we’re talking 5%) in certain categories. But there’s a catch: The rewards categories tend to be especially niche, the categories can change throughout the year, and generally they’re lucrative only if you’re hyper-organized.

We don’t recommend these cards for most people. They can be a pain to use (often requiring you to opt in to bonus categories periodically), they sometimes compel people to spend more than they should to take advantage of the “discount,” and in some cases they don’t let you choose your categories (for example, you could get stuck with gas as your bonus category when you don’t drive).

But at this point in this guide, we’re assuming that you are not like most people. If you’re interested in these cards, that means you’re eager to rack up rewards. You’re meticulous about your budget and flexible about your spending, and you have the spending prowess to supercharge your rewards.

If you already have a general-spending card as well as a bonus-category card, and you still want more, read on.

Best for cash back in uncommon categories like gyms or movie theaters: U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

15.99% - 25.49% variable

Intro Bonus

$150

Recommended Credit

Good to excellent

Bonus categories: 5% cash back each quarter on up to $2,000 in combined purchases in that quarter’s bonus categories (you choose two categories), then 1%. October–December choices (PDF) include gyms, movie theaters, electronics stores, department stores, and furniture stores. You also get 2% on one everyday category of your choice (gas stations, grocery stores, or restaurants). Categories may change quarterly.

Why we like it

You choose your categories: You get to select your bonus categories, and the categories can prove to be quite lucrative. Unlike other cards, where bonuses often apply to low-expense categories such as highway tolls or streaming services, U.S. Bank’s categories lend themselves well to big-ticket purchases like electronics, furniture, and items from department stores.

Flexible options for redeeming your rewards: To claim your cash back, you have a few alternatives, including getting your rewards as cash to your U.S. Bank checking, savings, or money market account, as a statement credit to your Cash+ credit card account, or on a U.S. Bank Visa Rewards card (a prepaid card). There’s no minimum balance required to get cash or statement credit, though if you go the Visa Rewards route, you must redeem $20 or more, in $5 increments.

The bonus categories are unique: While restaurant or gas rewards are easy to come by, it’s tough to find a card with bonus rewards at niche spots like gyms or movie theaters. Maybe you’d rather spend your evenings at a boutique barre class than at the bar, or maybe your family frequents movie nights at Dolby, 70 millimeter, or Imax theaters a few times a month. (Both of those links are to The New York Times, Wirecutter’s parent company.) Not many credit cards offer bonus rewards in those niche categories. Other categories that U.S. Bank currently offers include sporting goods stores (like REI and Bass Pro Shops), department stores (like Macy’s and Nordstrom), and electronics stores (like the Apple Store and Best Buy).

Many of those merchants offer their own branded credit cards, but we tend to steer clear of retail cards as they often have unfavorable terms such as high APRs and low credit limits.

The rewards cap is higher than on most other bonus-category cards: Although this card has a rewards cap—5% each quarter on up to $2,000 in combined purchases—it’s the highest cap of all the dynamic-category cards we reviewed. Unless you’re going to SoulCycle every day, you probably won’t max out that limit.

The intro bonus is very easy to attain: Spend just $500 on your card within 90 days of opening your account, and you get a $150 bonus. If you’re using this card to fund an expensive gym membership (Equinox’s all-access memberships start at $260 per month), you’ll hit that in two months with that payment alone.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Rewards expire if unredeemed after 36 months: The rewards are easy to redeem, but they expire if you’re slow to redeem them. Rewards expire 36 months after the billing cycle in which you earn them.

Bonus categories are subject to change: The bonus categories rarely change, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. You might set up autopay for your expensive gym membership via this card, for instance, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get 5% back on it next year.

You must pick your categories and opt in every quarter: Your bonus rewards on gym purchases, for example, don’t automatically kick in as soon as you swipe your card at SoulCycle. The enrollment period for the next quarter begins 45 days before it starts and ends five days before it begins. During this period, you must select your two 5% categories and one 2% category. If you forget to do this, no bonus rewards for you (instead, you earn just 1%).

You need to pay attention to what merchants qualify for each bonus category: This is one of those cards where you might be left wondering whether your purchase even counts for the 5% supercharged rewards. For example, when it comes to your next pizza purchase, Domino’s could qualify for the 5% fast food category, but Pizza Hut is considered a restaurant, which is a 2% category.

The bank posts some examples of merchants that qualify for each category, which may help you determine whether the card is a fit for your spending, but the list is not comprehensive.

If you want to plan out big purchases in advance: Discover it Cash Back

Great for planning big future purchases

The grab-bag cash-back credit card. You earn bonus cash-back rewards on a set of stores and outlets that changes every three months, such as gas stations to start 2019 and Amazon to end it. You’re probably best off using this as a complement to another cash-back card that earns the same high rate on all spending.

What we love

5% cash back on up to $1,500 in spending at popular retailers can save you a good deal of money.

No annual fee and no foreign-transaction fee

Cash-back earnings are doubled the first year

Highly regarded customer service

What we don’t love

Although this program looks good on paper, you have to keep track of which merchants or categories are highlighted in a given quarter and remember to opt in to the program.

Non-bonus spending nets only 1% cash back

Discover isn’t as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard outside the US

Product details have been collected independently by Wirecutter and are accurate as of 9/6/2019. Learn More.

Annual Fee

$0

Regular APR

13.99% - 24.99% variable

Intro Bonus

Cashback Match™

Recommended Credit

Good to excellent

Bonus categories: 5% cash back each quarter on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in that quarter’s bonus categories, then 1%. The October–December category consists of Amazon.com, Target, and Walmart.com. Past categories for 2019 have included grocery stores and gas stations.

Why we like it

The bonus-category calendar appears in advance: Discover announces its bonus categories for the full year. The final quarter of 2019, for example, offers 5% at Amazon.com, Target, and Walmart.com. If you’re planning to make a big purchase from one of those retailers, such as a new computer or TV, and you can afford to wait, it may make sense to hold off to reap those 5% rewards.

It’s especially rewarding in year one: A 5% cash-back rate is good, but it’s even better in your first year of card ownership. You get a dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year, no caps, essentially allowing you to earn an eye-popping 10% back in your first year.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

There’s a cap on bonus earnings: The 5% bonus on rotating categories is limited to up to $1,500 in combined purchases per quarter, so the most you could earn via the 5% bonus is just $75 each quarter.

You need to manually activate the bonus category: As with the Chase Freedom, on the Discover it Cash Back, the 5% back isn’t automatic. You need to opt in before that quarter’s deadline (the easiest way is by visiting Discover’s website). Again, it’s not the biggest inconvenience, but it’s still some inconvenience.

The new card on the block

If you use Apple Pay a bunch: Apple Card

But it is shaping up to be pretty interesting if you worry a lot about credit card fraud. The Apple Card gives you 2% cash back when you use Apple Pay. Like other payment services such as Android Pay and Samsung Pay, Apple Pay uses technology that allows your phone to make a credit card payment without transmitting the card’s details into the store’s payment system. That may make your data less vulnerable to hackers and tougher for thieves to access (if your phone requires thumbprint authentication or a passcode).

You earn 3% cash back on Apple products and 2% cash back on all purchases you make through Apple Pay, but you get only 1% on everything else, so this card is a good fit only if you frequently patronize merchants who accept Apple Pay. Nearly three-quarters of the nation’s top 100 retailers and about half of all US retailers accept Apple Pay.

To see if Apple Pay is accepted where you shop, look for either an Apple Pay logo on the cash register or an icon of a hand holding a card in front of a wireless signal. The latter means that contactless payments such as Apple Pay and Android Pay are supported.

Although 1% on non–Apple Pay spending isn’t great, this card makes up for that in its lack of fees, including no annual fee, no fee for late payments, no penalty APRs, and no foreign-transaction fees.